1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic displays and more particularly relates to controlling a brightness level of an electronic display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic displays are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Electronic displays are used in computer systems, televisions, gas station pumps, advertisements, cash registers, toys, vehicles, telephones, handhelds, and in countless other devices. An electronic display, however, uses a large portion of the total power consumed by a device. This increases the cost of powering a device, and decreases the battery life of portable devices.
Additionally, many electronic displays have finite lifetimes, after which a display may exhibit decreased usability or be unusable. Often, an electronic display's backlight uses the majority of the power consumed by the electronic display. The backlight may also be the component that determines the lifetime of an electronic display, fading with use. In some environments, such as retail environments, electronic displays are in nearly continuous use throughout the day, and sometimes around the clock. This constant use wears out electronic displays, and consumes large amounts of power. Users also routinely set the brightness level of an electronic display to the maximum level. The higher the brightness level of an electronic display, the more power that the display consumes, and the shorter the operating life of the display.
While electronic displays sometimes have user configurable display settings, many companies have large numbers of electronic displays. For example, a company may have a computer monitor for each employee, a retail chain may have several cash registers in each store, and a gas station chain may have a display at each pump. The aggregate power consumption costs of these electronic displays can be large, and there is currently no easy way to propagate uniform display settings across multiple electronic displays.